1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rope guide for a winding mechanism or winch and, more particularly, to a rope guide which can gently wind and unwind a rope from a winding drum, particularly when the rope is being pulled diagonally, without the need for separate driving means.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rope guides of the type described herein are used on winches, especially those having winding drums with rope grooves, to prevent the hoisting rope from exceeding a permissible lateral deflection along the axis of rotation of the winding drum. These deviations or deflections occur, for example, as a result of a pendulum-like swinging of the load or due to diagonal tension on the rope. Experience has shown that the service life of the rope increases if such deflections are reduced.
German Patent Number DE 42 41 655 C1 discloses a rope guide in which a rail, including the guide elements, is swivelably suspended near the point at which the rope lines run tangentially off the winding drum. The rail is thereby swivelably adaptable to the deflecting movement of the rope lines transverse to the axis of rotation of the winding drum. As a result, the rope lines are gently guided without the need for additional driving means and the rope guide is robust and relatively inexpensive in terms of construction. However, the use of ball bearings to support the idler sheaves or guide rollers within the rope guide, as disclosed in this reference, limits the robustness, impact strength and freedom from maintenance of a rope guide constructed accordingly. Furthermore, the guide rollers disclosed in this reference are adaptable to only a limited number of conditions above and below the position of the rope guide.
There is accordingly a need for an inexpensive, robust and essentially maintenance free rope guide which readily adapts to transverse deflection of the rope and/or load.